The present invention relates to a method for simulating the formation of an adhesive joint. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for simulating the formation of an adhesive joint which allows the proper size and location of an adhesive bead, which is to form an adhesive joint, to be accurately determined and/or allows attributes of an adhesive joint to be accurately determined given a size and location of an adhesive bead used to form the joint.
Adhesive joints (e.g., joints formed of glues, polymers and/or other adhesives) are often utilized to connect and/or attach components of articles of manufacture. Such joints are typically formed by placing an amount of adhesive (i.e., a generally spherical bead) in a particular position or at a particular location on a first component and then moving the first component and a second component together, thereby compressing the adhesive between the first and second components to form a joint.
It is desirable to develop methods which determine the appropriate amount and/or placement of adhesive on a component such that the adhesive forms a durable joint. An appropriate amount and/or placement of adhesive, as used herein, refers to an amount large enough to form a joint of adequate strength, but small enough and appropriately placed such that excess adhesive is not xe2x80x9csqueezedxe2x80x9d or discharged from between the first and second components, thereby wasting adhesive and/or interfering with other components of the article of manufacture.
A conventional method for determining the amount and/or placement of adhesive which is to form a joint typically includes xe2x80x9ctrial and errorxe2x80x9d type processes. That is, an amount of adhesive is typically placed in a particular position on a first component and a joint is formed with a second component. If the joint produces wasted or excessive discharged adhesive, a lesser amount of adhesive or a different placement of the adhesive is used to form a new joint. If the joint is too weak, additional adhesive is used to form another joint. This process may be repeated to form additional joints using more or less adhesive placed in different locations on the components until an adequate or desirable joint is formed. This conventional trial and error method suffers from drawbacks. In particular, the conventional method undesirably requires excessive cost and time for experimentation and may consume several samples or prototypes before a proper joint is produced.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method for simulating an adhesive joint which allows an individual and/or business enterprise to form consistent and reliable joints with minimal experimentation.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a method for simulating the formation of an adhesive joint which overcomes the previously delineated drawbacks of conventional methods.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a method for simulating the formation of an adhesive joint which allows an adequate joint to be consistently formed with minimal experimentation.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for simulating the formation of an adhesive joint which attaches components of an article of manufacture. The method includes the steps of determining first variables of the components which effect the formation of the joint; determining second variables relating to an adhesive bead used to form the joint; formulating at least one equation which interrelates the first and the second variables; and utilizing the at least one equation to simulate the formation of the adhesive joint.